Morale: Let The People Know What We Did

[Valin]

Strategy Page:

March 18, 2016:

 

There has been growing discontent in the U.S. military because of the Department of Defense policy of not releasing to the public the official descriptions ("narratives") of what many soldiers did to receive medals. This especially applies to two of the three highest awards; the Silver Star (number 3) and the Distinguished Service Cross (number 2). There are very few Medals of Honor awarded, and the military does not restrict access to the narratives for these. Since September 11, 2001, all military personnel receiving Silver Stars and Distinguished Service Crosses had their names, where the heroic event took place and the home town of the recipient made public but often the narratives were classified and withheld

 

Since 2001 nearly 1,100 of the top three medals have been awarded and about 20 percent of them were classified special operations missions where the details of these awards ("narratives") are still secret. Over half of all the top three awards were given since 2008 and most of those were to special operations troops. This reflects the fact that more of the actual fighting is being done by special operations personnel, who comprise only about five percent of all combat troops (who get nearly all the top three awards).

 

A growing number of military personnel, and civilians, are pressuring the Department of Defense to change their policy. Some members of Congress have threatened to enact laws to force the release of these narratives. There is currently no law restricting public access to these narratives. The military insist they are keeping the narratives secret in order to protect the privacy of troops receiving these awards, and for operational security (not letting the enemy know of secret military techniques). Active duty troops and veterans generally consider this nonsense and blame the "cover your ass" attitude in the Pentagon for the policy. It has also been pointed out that some individuals received a Silver Star or Distinguished Service Cross rather than a Medal of Honor because the event in question was classified and details would have to be made public. The military is now reviewing all the classified Silver Star or Distinguished Service Cross recipients to see which should be upgraded to Medal of Honor.

 

(Snip)

 

This awards inflation was a very unpopular aspect of the Vietnam War, and became a major embarrassment after the 1983 Grenada invasion where the army tried to award more medals than there were troops involved. The public caught wind of it and forced the brass to back off. It was feared that another such scandal appears to be brewing. Compared to World War II, that is what is happening. The only good news is that it is not as bad as it was during Vietnam.

 

(Snip)